Spruce Derden–US PRESSWIRE
The Alabama Crimson Tide are entering the toughest portion of their schedule, a three-game gauntlet that starts with the Mississippi State Bulldogs at home in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. Alabama then travels to Baton Rouge to face LSU before returning home to take on Texas A&M.
But the task at hand is the game against Mississippi State on Saturday. The Bulldogs enter the game with a chip on their shoulder to prove they are legitimate contenders in the SEC and for the BCS National Championship. They are ranked 11th in the BCS standings and are off to a 7-0 start.
Mississippi State hasn’t gotten much love from the media due to their weak schedule to date. Their three SEC wins came against Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee. Those three teams have a combined record of 5-17. Out of conference, the Bulldogs took down Jackson State, Troy, South Alabama and Middle Tennessee State; not exactly a murderer’s row of opponents.
Mississippi State has heard the talk that they have no shot to leave Tuscaloosa with a win this weekend. Alabama opened up as a 24-point favorite, and you can bet that Dan Mullen has that plastered all over the bulletin board.
The Bulldogs have been middle of the road statistically on offense this year. They rank 47th in the country in rushing offense, 56th in passing offense, and 50th in total offense. They do rank 27th in the nation in scoring offense at 36.7 points per game.
A big reason for Mississippi State’s 7-0 start has been the play of junior quarterback Tyler Russell. Russell is finally the full-time starter for Mullen’s bunch, and he has been very efficient for the Bulldogs in 2012.
Russell has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1573 yards and 15 touchdowns to just 1 interception this year. Russell came up big in leading the Bulldogs to a 41-31 win over Tennessee in Starkville, and his only interceptions this year came against South Alabama.
Russell has done everything asked of him by Dan Mullen and more. His steady play at quarterback has been what has been missing from previous Mullen teams in Starkville.
Russell’s favorite target is playmaking senior receiver Chad Bumphis. He is an elite athlete, and has the ability to turn any play into a homerun. He doesn’t have great size, so he doesn’t really pose a big matchup problem to Alabama’s secondary like Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson did last week.
Still, Bumphis is having the best season of his collegiate career in 2012 with 29 receptions for 479 yards and 6 touchdowns. Bumphis had a huge game against Troy where he went off for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Trojans.
Senior Chris Smith is coming off of a breakout performance against Middle Tennessee State on Saturday where he caught 7 passes for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Smith has 293 receiving yards and two touchdowns this season.
Senior Arceto Clark is the third guy in the rotation for the Bulldogs and he has 15 receptions for 216 yards. Clark gives Mississippi State a trio of senior receivers who have been through it all.
Senior tight end Marcus Green has been Russell’s favorite target in the red zone. Green only has 14 catches for 166 yards, but 5 of those receptions have been touchdowns. He had two touchdown catches in wins over Auburn and Tennessee.
Few runners have been better than junior LaDarius Perkins this year. Perkins has had a breakout year for Mississippi State stepping into Vick Ballard’s big shoes. Perkins leads the SEC with 724 yards on 125 carries and he has found the endzone 8 times.
Perkins has rushed for at least 100 yards in each of the last three games, and has been the workhorse running back for the Bulldogs. He has 91 more carries than anybody else on the team.
Freshmen running backs Derrick Milton and Josh Robinson will see a few carries each against the Crimson Tide, but Perkins will get the bulk of the carries. Perkins should also see time returning kicks on Saturday night.
There was concern coming into the year about Mississippi State’s offensive line coming into the year with junior guard Gabe Jackson as the only returning starter. But, for the most part, the offensive line has been very good.
They have kept the pressure off of Tyler Russell, allowing just six sacks in seven games, and have opened up running lanes for Perkins. Of course, they have yet to face a defensive front as talented as Alabama’s, so the real test for their offensive line will be this weekend at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Overall, Mississippi State’s offense doesn’t have the playmakers that put fear into oppositions like Tennessee did last week, but their offense is very solid and respectable in every category. They cannot be taken lightly.
This game will be the Crimson Tide’s toughest test yet, and if Alabama wants to represent the SEC West in Atlanta and move on to Miami for the BCS National Championship, they have to take down Mississippi State this weekend.
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